Greatian Bladeball League
The Greatian Bladeball League (GBL) (Greatian: Edalbllab Euagel fo Greatia (EEG)) is the highest organization of professional bladeball in Greatia. Formed in 1947 by James Hardie and Kreasi Kornblatt, it is the most popular sports organization in Greatia. History Founding and Original Six The sport of bladeball was invented in the early 1940s by Kreasi Kornblatt, to cure what he felt was a lack of sports in Greatia. His partner, James Hardie, formed the league and funded the setup of six teams based in six different cities in Greatia. These six teams, who still play today, have come to be known as the Original Six. The first GBL season, the 1947 season, took place over the course of six weeks, from May 5 to June 20, 1947. Each team played each other once, for a total of 15 games. There were three games per week in the regular season, which lasted from May 5 to June 6. The playoff was a single best-of-three championship series between the Foye Rivers and New Nate Rockers. The Rivers won the series and their first championship. The championship trophy was a four-foot tall shiny trophy named the Kreasi Cup, in honor of the creator of bladeball, Kreasi Kornblatt. Expansion The league expanded to ten teams for the 1958 season, adding four teams: the Feldis Shippers, Duesburg Pencils, Zelzburg Reapers, and Revclo Westerners. The first of these teams to win the championship was the Feldis Shippers, who won two years later, in 1960. A second round was added to the playoffs, so rather than only two teams making it to the playoffs, four teams could now make it. Both rounds remained a best-of-three series. In 1971, six new teams were added, making the total amount of teams 17. They were the Tipton Manuvers, Dawson Belchfarters, Mabel Dippers, Alberg Bay Powers, Altrolete Isolationers, Barthelet Indelibles, and Blackcrest Basers. The Dippers were eliminated in 1996, but returned in 2018 (see 2018 changes). 2017 eliminations Following the 2016 season, the Isolationers and Indelibles were eliminated and a new team, the Evan Gamechangers, were added for the 2017 season. This brought the number of teams down to 14, the lowest since 1970. The city of Evan, oddly enough, never had a GBL team, but desperately craved one for many years. They finally got one in 2017, and actually won the Cup in their first year of play. 2018 additions The elimination of teams in 2017 was not popular among fans, especially in the Altrolete and Barthelet areas. Following Commissioner Valeria Giddings' departure in 2017, the new Commissioner, Jake Magnuson, promised to return the teams of Altrolete and Barthelet, as well as bring new teams into the GBL, through means of both relocation and expansion. The Isolationers were returned as the Stackers, and the Indelibles returned as was. The Dawson Belchfarters, after years of franchise failure and a lack of proper fanbase, were relocated to Treville as the Saturns. The Mabel Dippers returned, and a new franchise, the New Conlu Clutchers, were created. All of these teams began play for the 2018 season. All of this brought the amount of teams to 18, the highest it has ever been. Leagues, which function as conferences or divisions, were formed in 2018 as well. The 18 teams were split into two leagues, the East and West Leagues, obviously based on geographic location. Each league consists of nine teams. However, leagues have no effect on how many times a year teams play each other, and which teams face each other in the playoffs. It is simply a means of organization. Future plans :Main articles: New Nate Ninjas and Slothton Skeletons Plans to expand the league to 20 teams surfaced in 2018, amid the expansion. The GBL has stated that there will be no more than 20 teams in the future, so after this expansion, there will be no more expansion, just relocation or elimination of teams (possibly). The city of Slothton, Monetti is the second-largest city without a GBL team (besides Dawson, which as mentioned, had a team) and is slated to gain a team, the skeletons, who will begin play when their stadium is completed. Because of the formation of leagues, Slothton's team would be placed in the West League, and the GBL now needed to create a team for the East League. After the GBL failed to find another compatible city that meets the requirements of a GBL team (and does not have a team already), rumors surfaced that for the first time in the history of the GBL, one city that already has a team would have to receive another team, meaning that one city would be home to two GBL teams. This idea was heavily panned, but was approved. The GBL narrowed the options down to two cities: New Nate and Foye. In June 2018, it was confirmed that since New Nate is Greatia's largest city, and is home to an extremely diverse set of bladeball fans, among other factors, New Nate would be the city to receive a second team, the Ninjas. This idea was compared to , which is the only city in the to be home to two NHL teams. The GBL also analyzed arena factors, and found that the Cheyenne Arena in New Nate is an arena unused for bladeball that could easily be converted host the Ninjas, compared to Foye, which had no alternate arenas. Category:GBL Category:Bladeball